IN November 2024, during his visit to Karachi, Field Marshal General Syed Asim Munir spoke with the business community about important economic challenges and efforts to boost Pakistan’s economy.
General Munir gave the business community his word that their issues and problems [particularly related to land grabbing and corruption] would be given top priority. In order to draw in more investment and encourage sustainable growth, he urged the business community to keep working with the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).
But it’s unfortunate, the public have not yet seen any real advantages from projects, especifically the Rs600 billion southern Balochistan package and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and SIFC pace of development projects have been hampered by poor governance, crime/drug mafia and land grabbing, a pitiful revenue department and administration, inefficient bureaucracy, the financial crisis/mismanagement, unstable political environment and ineffective service delivery [all to blame for the province’s slow progress].
There are a series of cases demonstrating the non-existence of the rule of law, with the weaker facets of society being treated differently as “ordinary citizens” and the defense of their constitutionally granted rights becoming less important. Given the serious abuses of fundamental rights, Balochistan’s administration is in a state of deplorable status of governance which has raised public concerns that require the protection of the state and its institutions. The facts and circumstances of the grievances at hand indicate a virtual collapse of the governance system. With the direct and indirect assistance of the police, revenue authorities and regulators, politicians engage in extensive land grabbing and other illicit operations.
The law’s acquisition procedures had not been seriously addressed by the concerned authorities and lacked to enforce the law by depriving citizens of their rights. It was asserted that in Balochistan the public functionaries and concerned authorities are helping local grabbers to violate the rights of the people who owned their ancestral properties.
Regarding land grabbing, both the federal and provincial governments have consistently directed the implementation of stringent legal measures at all levels of government. Regrettably, these measures have only been verbally promised and no one has the guts to come forward, which has damaged public confidence generally [in Balochistan particularly].
The land management system in Balochistan is plagued by widespread corruption. Land grabbers have the ability to bribe and kickback officials, from higher-ranking bureaucrats to Patwaris (land revenue officers). Land grabbing takes different forms — from fraudulent land deals and encroachments on public property to the forcible removal of true owners from their ancestral lands etc. These difficulties might give the impression that land grabbers can act whatever they like without facing any repercussions, which further complicates matters for those who are affected although the current rules are extensive [plagued by issues such as inefficiency and corruption]. Victims must contend with a costly and time-consuming court system.
The Hub district of Balochistan serves as a sanctuary for several fugitive convicts under political patronage. It’s a common practice at district hub that grabbers illegally and unlawfully sell the properties on mere stamp papers. The illegal constructions they do in order to artificially densely populated and accommodating multi-families/aliens and developing mosques, shops and houses to distort demarcated plots/lands of true owners. In the district lawful land owners facing complex legal jargon to procedural hurdles —— extremely difficult for them to seek justice and have their problems resolved.
In order to maintain control over both government and private property and buildings in the district, the land grabbers reportedly use armed personnel in addition to illegally occupying buildings and lands. There have been numerous complaints alleging that the administration has failed to reclaim land at district in spite of orders from the various Honourable Courts, particularly encroachment on acres of land along Sakran Road. Area residents say that the land grabbers enjoy the full support of politicians, administration, revenue officials and the police. Instead of concentrating on preventing crime, the ruling political party/ies in the area frequently employ the police and other law enforcement organizations to target their political rivals. Vigilante justice has increased as a result and there is now less faith in law enforcement.
In September 2023, Amjad Rasheed, the Interim Finance and Revenue Minister for Balochistan, launched a crackdown on the land mafia in order to recover both public and private property. In July 2024, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, the Chief Minister of Balochistan, verbally launched a crackdown on land grabbers across the province as part of a bold effort to stop illicit land encroachments, which has been impacting true landowners. The CM, to meet formalities, evaluated the progress on actions against land mafia and evaluated the status of the land mafia action in September 2024 as part of formalities. There are a series of unresolved complaints against the land mafia (supported by politicians) that were filed at the PMs’ & CMs’ complaint cell. The Federal and Provincial governments have completely failed to restore the rights of lawful landowners. It appears that the Balochistan Administration is not dedicated to helping its people recover their property rights.
There must be an operation against the influential land mafia in Hub without any discrimination as this mafia is among factors keeping the country [especially this province and district] underdeveloped. It is regrettable that although the public has complained about their lands being grabbed, the careless authorities have not bothered to keep up with the administrative nuances of the problem, analyze policy formulation, evaluate performance of the concerned officials and hold them responsible for any carelessness or laxity.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.
